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Long road leads TE Nick Bowers toward highly anticipated senior season

Admittedly, Nick Bowers wasn’t much of a talker upon his arrival at Penn State in the summer of 2015.

Coming from the small town of Kittanning in Western Pennsylvania, the tight end said he was awed by the size of his new, older teammates. Plus, he added, he was naturally timid, anyway.

“When I first got here, I didn't say a word to anybody,” said Bowers. “Coming in, especially from a small school and all of these college guys, I was very quiet for a while."

Weighing just 230 pounds upon landing with the Nittany Lions, Bowers has had a significant evolution since those days, both with his body as well as with his comfort-level within the program.

Now checking in at 262 pounds, down slightly from his weight of 270 pounds that he has carried through most of his Penn State career, Bowers transformed himself immediately in the weight room and through new eating habits during that first redshirt year on campus. Specifying that the weight gain was mostly muscle, maintaining his ability to move well in the process, Bowers said he now intends to stick with the lighter load for his final season at Penn State.

Meanwhile, he’s also taken on a significantly different role with the team from his earliest days in the program.

“It's definitely different from when you first come here and have your first official college workout and practice. For me, I was super nervous,” he said. “But now you kind of just know how everything works and you're kind of more laid back and you know what to expect. It's a lot easier to transition into spring, summer, fall, all that stuff. I've been through it a couple of times. It's not that bad.”


Could Bowers break out for his final season with the Nittany Lions?
Could Bowers break out for his final season with the Nittany Lions?
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As a result, Bowers has a unique place in Penn State’s tight ends room as his final season with the Nittany Lions quickly approaches.

Given the offseason transfer of Danny Dalton and the absence of Jonathan Holland from team activities through the spring, Bowers is poised to be the only senior tight end on the roster for the 2019 season. And, considering that Pat Freiermuth and Zack Kuntz have just one year on campus, while mid-semester enrollee Brenton Strange is coming up on six months with the program, Bowers' experience becomes that much more important.

“It's different from when you first get here because you don't want to speak out, but now that you're an older guy, you kind of know what's going on and you can give your advice to the younger guys because sometimes it's just different coming in. Some guys need humbled and you try to give them a word of advice, for anything, if it's off the field, on the field,” said Bowers. “I've been around here for five years, so they can come to me for anything they need. And on the field, I can speak out because I'm not afraid to anymore. If I need to, I can speak up.”

The process has been a challenging one for Bowers, though.

Taking a redshirt in 2015, Bowers missed the entirety of the 2016 season to injury to the chagrin of the Penn State coaching staff, which had heightened hopes for him leading into the year. Returning in 2017 behind a broken-out Mike Gesicki, Bowers worked his way back from injury to see time in three games and caught a touchdown late in the season against Nebraska.

Still banged up at the start of the 2018 season, then, Bowers finally began to emerge, albeit subtly, behind Freiermuth. “At the time, I was pretty happy with my playing time because, with the injuries and stuff, I didn't know how my career here was looking,” said Bowers. “So being here for so long and finally getting out there and playing was pretty awesome. I think it was a good start and I hope this year is better.”

Certainly, Bowers’ finish to the 2018 season indicates that the possibility is very much within reach.

Pulling in a career-high three receptions for 32 yards in Penn State’s Citrus Bowl loss, including a bruising 1-yard touchdown grab, Bowers said the performance helped propel him into a productive offseason.

“I think it was just more of a confidence boost more than anything, to end on a high note against a good team,” said Bowers. “It was kind of one of those things that, (through the years) you go home and everyone asks you a million questions. ‘Are you starting this year?’ I mean, you don't know how to answer those questions. ‘Uh... I don't know.’ You humble yourself and say you hope so.

“But I don't regret anything, and with the injury and the building up process to going into the Citrus Bowl, I just had this surreal feeling scoring in that game. The loss was disappointing, but finally getting the chance to play, that build-up since I've been here in 2015 to now, it was just crazy.”

With one more season left with the Nittany Lions, that build-up isn’t necessarily complete.

Meeting with reporters in April following one of the Nittany Lions’ spring practices, head coach James Franklin set a high bar for Bowers’ potential in the season ahead, including the rising fifth-year senior with Freiermuth as a “complete tight end” with an opportunity to be great.

“Right now, I think Pat's got a chance to be one of the better tight ends in the country. I think Bowers has a chance to be one of the better tight ends in the country,” said Franklin. “I think we've got a chance to have a two-headed monster there.”

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